In which John Heilemann talks with Christopher Jackson, the Tony award-nominated and Grammy and Emmy award-winning actor, singer, musician, and composer best known for playing George Washington in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton. Heilemann and Jackson discuss his journey from growing up in Cairo, Illinois to becoming a bona fide theater and television star; how the traumas of Covid-19 and the post-George Floyd racial reckoning impacted the creative community; how Broadway is faring as it prepares for its long-awaited reopening in September; how Hamilton reflected the political zeitgeist of the Obama era but remains relevant today, and how it felt to perform at the White House for the first Black president; and his pride at seeing the hit Broadway musical In the Heights, in which he played a key role (Benny), turned into a splashy Hollywood film that is among the first to be widely released in movie theaters in the wake of the pandemic. Jackson also discusses his relationship with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the genius behind both In The Heights and Hamilton, and why their friendship is one of the most important in his life. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices